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Blue tits divorce their partners if they turn up late to mate

By Alice Klein

17 November 2017

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Blue tits are monogamous – unless one of them is late

blickwinkel / Alamy Stock Photo

Blue tits divorce their partners if they turn up late to annual breeding season.

About 85 per cent of birds are socially monogamous, meaning they form couples and share the workload of raising their young. Staying together long-term is thought to be beneficial because they can focus on breeding and parenting rather than having to look for new mates.

However, break-ups have been observed in 92 per cent of these socially-monogamous species, including blue tits.

To work out why some blue tits divorce, Carol Gilsenan…

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